A father-and-daughter trip to the town of Blue Ridge includes a ride on the rails, book shopping and tea with hats.

We slip off I-75 at Cleveland, Tenn., and roam east on U.S. 64, a snake-shaped route bordering the scenic Parksville Lake. We pass through a narrow gorge, with huge rock walls on the roadsides of southeastern Tennessee.

Next comes the sign – “Welcome to Georgia.”

And my six-year-old daughter, Abby, goes “Woo-hoo!” in the backseat. She is more than excited. For the first time, she and I have gone on vacation – just the two of us – to Blue Ridge, Ga., our home-away-from-home for a long weekend.

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